MacNeill hopes to pull together enough cash to buy an aging recreational vehicle for him, his wife and his grade school-age daughter.

"We can get a space for $400, including utilities," he said. "All I have to do is find about $3,000."

He has set aside $500 from book sales and hopes to raise most of the rest by borrowing small amounts from many people. He sent friends and family an e-mail asking for "microloans" of $50 to $100, promising to pay them back as soon as he can.

Martin Johncox is giving MacNeill $50. The two met and became friends through connections in the Boise music scene.

"Times are tight, and any of us can find ourselves in the same position," said Johncox, a public relations consultant.

MacNeill is confident he can find a bargain.

"It's a buyer's market for RVs right now," he said. "One of the first things people unload in hard times is their trailer, and there are some great deals out there."

RV park managers say they are seeing more people moving into RVs full time.

"There have been working-age people who can't afford a home move in here," said Calvin Cummings, manager of Boise Meridian RV Resort in Meridian, Idaho. "We have about 70 residents who pay month to month."

Spaces rent for $400 a month, which includes a sewer hookup and water. Most people heat the homes with propane. Cummings said residents spend as much as $150 a month to heat their RVs in winter.

"It's a fairly inexpensive way to live if you can put up with cold and small spaces"

For some who are downsizing, a new RV has become an option.

Matthew Young, general manager at Camping World RV Sales in Boise, said he has been selling more RVs to people looking for less expensive housing.

"Fifth wheels are more conducive to living in than motor homes because they are roomier," he said. "They're also less expensive."

New fifth-wheel trailers -- designed to be towed by pickups with a hitch installed in the truck bed -- typically provide about 275 square feet of living space. They sell for between $25,000 and $60,000 and are typically 8.5 feet wide by 27 to 35 feet long. Motor homes start at about $50,000.

MacNeill is confident he and his family can live in the confined space.

"Leslie and I lived in a sailboat for a while, so we are handy and we're used to living small."